Turkish banana peppers in milk (Sutlu biber yemegi)

This is a simple Turkish meze plate, but one that was so surprisingly good.

The start of every meal in Turkey is with a traditional meze serving. This can consist of as few as 4 dishes or up to 20, in an almost infinite variety of dishes, colours and flavours. The dishes can be both vegetarian or with meat, hot or cold and as diverse as you can imagine. I sometimes just want to eat this meze as they are absolutely mindblowing.

Here is a very traditional but not-so-common dish. The dish is simple, just 4 ingredients, but the flavours are divine. The peppers add a slight pungency, and the milk is rich and creamy. I served this with chunky bread, but you can use pita too, so that you can sop up the gravy, which is the best part.

The Turkish Cookbook is the bible for Turkish cooking by a master chef. The author has spent decades researching the cuisine of the different regions of Turkey, and this book is a massive volume that highlights his efforts. Packed with recipes, this cookbook encompasses all of Turkish cuisine, one every serious chef should have on their shelf or kitchen counter.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

6 banana peppers, seeded and cut into thin, longitudinal strips

Salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan on low heat. Add the onions and peppers and fry on low heat for 10 minutes until the onions are very soft. Do not let the onions get any colour.

Add the salt, pepper and water and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Add the milk and continue to simmer until the milk is very thick and clings to the peppers, like thick cream. Cook on the lowest flame on your stove, and stir continually, or the milk may split.

Remove and serve hot with bread or pita.